Price indices in agriculture are calculated based on the standards and guidlines outlined in the Handbook for EU agricultural price statistics. Agricultural output prices are collected through a monthly survey in the entire territory of the Republic of Albania. The information is gained from farms, slaughterhouses and weekly markets as well as on other places where agricultural products are selled. For domestic products the prices are collected at farm gate level excluding taxes. They are surveyed in Albanian Lek, while the measuring units are in kg, liter or pieces.
The Index of producer prices of agricultural products is divided into two main groups: Crop and animal products. For crop products prices are collected for the following groups: cereals, industrial crops, forage plants, vegetables, potatoes and permanent crops. For animal products prices are collected for animals and animal products. Within this framework prices are surveyed for four main categories of animals: Cattle, pigs, sheep and goats as well as poultry based on the live weight of animals for slaughter. Within animal products, prices are collected for the categories: milk, eggs and honey.
Classification
The index is calculated and published according to the classification structure of agricultural products, fully compatible with the structure used by Eurostat. Based on this classification the prices are classified into 11 main groups as follows:
- Cereals
- Industrial crops
- Forage plants
- Vegetables
- Potatoes
- Permanent crops
- Wine
- Olive oil
- Animal production
- Milk
- Other animal products
The indices are calculated according to the following hierarchy:
- Total Index
- Index by main groups
- Index by subgroups
- Index at detailed level by products
Weighting scheme of the producer price index for agricultural products
To calculate the producer price index for agricultural products a weighting scheme is used. The weighting factor attached to each elementary index and aggregate index corresponds to the sales value of the respective product (excluding VAT) during the base period (2015=100) according to Eurostat methodology. Weights are also used to join indices of main groups and aggregate indices. The weighting scheme used comply with the methodology of the Economic Accounts for Agriculture. The total and quarterly weights are fixed over a base period. The weighting scheme of the producer price index for agricultural products changes every 5 years.
Calculation of elementary price index
The elementary index is calculated according to the following formula using absolute average prices.
Calculation of aggregate price index
The aggregate index for product groups, subgroups and the total output of agricultural products is calculated using the following formula:
